The Cycling News podcast is a podcast all about the world of professional cycling. Brought to you by the world centre of cycling, the Cycling News Podcast reports from the biggest races, including the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and interviews the stars of the sport.

Archives

The Tour de France might be over for another year but the 2017 edition of the race was one of the closest in living memory with the winner and podium places not decided until the final weekend of racing. Chris Froome (Team Sky) ran out the eventual winner, taking his fourth Tour in five years, while Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale Drapac) and Romain Bardet (AG2R Lan Mondiale) rounded out the top three. There were plenty of interesting and topical subplots, from Peter Sagan’s DQ to Michael Matthews and Warren Barguil leading the line for Subweb, to Team Sky’s dominance on GC. In our final Tour de France podcast, we look back at the race, hear from Froome and top ten rider Dan Martin, before looking ahead to the Vuelta a Espana.

It’s July 10, 1997, and an unknown Frenchman is about to ride himself into folklore at the Tour de France.

Cedric Vasseur, a young domestique is racing just his second Tour as part of the Gan team. The French outfit are an eclectic mix of nationalities with the legendary director, Roger Legeay, at the helm.

Gan start the race with a bang as British rider Chris Broadman wins the prologue in Rouen and as the race heads south-west through Brittany, the rest of the team begin to look for more opportunities in the race.

They lose the maillot jaune with Mario Cipollini and the bunch sprinters deciding the next few stages but on stage 5 from Chantonnay to La Chatre Vasseur sees his chance and claims not just a surprise stage win but the maillot jaune to become a French hero.

Vausser’s story is everything to embrace and love about the Tour de France – a tale of a young French rider fighting both the odds and the peloton before eventually claiming glory in front of an adoring public.